Kukla's Korner Hockey

Some of Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume’s opponents are accusing him of overplaying the possibility of resurrecting the Quebec Nordiques, saying it’s a ploy to win more votes in the upcoming municipal election.

Quebec hockey fans are still buzzing after a meeting between Labeaume and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday over the potential return of a professional hockey franchise to the provincial capital.

Labeaume’s NHL ambitions are running offside with opponents such as Langis Harvey, who is running for mayor as an independent.

The NHL has just spent the better part of the past year propping up the Coyotes and spending all sorts of time and resources in a bid to keep the team from being moved and just last May, Bettman proclaimed that when it came to the league’s struggling franchises, “We fix the problems. We don’t run out on cities.”

So let’s get this straight. The league essentially puts its credibility on the line for a franchise that has been bleeding red ink for years and has almost no hope for long-term success and it’s suddenly going to start moving franchises or expanding to places such as Quebec City and Winnipeg?